Greensboro Daily Photo

K is for Kids

The above photo was taken in the children's section of the Benjamin Branch Library. The Benjamin Branch was named for Ms. Blanche Sternberger Benjamin. Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin and her parents, the Sternbergers, were great philanthropists in Greensboro. Many of the Sternbergers' projects and donations, Sternberger Elementary, Sternberger Park, The Junior Achievement Property, to name a few, help the children of Greensboro. Benjamin Branch Library is located at 1530 Benjamin Parkway.

Recently, this branch has undergone renovation. While tiny, it is a vibrant, warm, and inviting place with easy access to technology. The library, located across from General Green Elementary School, remains busy, especially after school. The young fellow in the photo above was trying to trace the origin of a barking dog recording with his family smiling nearby. The adults who were tutoring (just beyond the camera lens) were slightly less amused at the barking dog recording!

Today is ABC Wednesday and K is for Kids. If you are looking for causes to help the children of Greensboro, your options are many. For as little as $10, you can become a Friend of the Greensboro Public Libraries (join here). The United Way of Greensboro does a great deal to help our children. Just about any school or church can connect you with ways to help the youth in our community. Finally, if you are interested in bringing a child to our community, Carolina Adoption is a great place to start.

This is our ABC causes of Greensboro series. See also ABC People and ABC streets.

Glenwood Coffee & Books

Glenwood Coffee & Books, located at 1310 Glenwood Avenue, is a great resource and retail space in the heart of the Glenwood community. Not only can you get a good cup of coffee there and find a great book to to buy, you can enjoy music and get involved in community events. Occupy Greensboro made many posters in the back room and continues to meet there. The space is likely to appeal more to the arts-loving, liberal-minded crowd. Every community needs good, independent bookstores. If you are interested in learning more about the bookstore, "like" their Facebook page or stop by when you get a chance. We hope to get by, soon, and interview the owner. He has been involved in indie bookstores for several, several decades. 

The bookstore is located very near the community garden in Glenwood (featured here in 2009). Where do you go to learn what is happening in Greensboro? 

"Q" is for QUAKER

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The Hege Library is the archival epicenter for our local Quaker/Friends community. The library has 80,000 square feet of space and contains over 240,000 books, periodicals and non-print media. According to the library's website, "the Friends Historical Collection, located in the Hege Library, is a comprehensive research collection of materials pertaining to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) worldwide. The collection is open to Guilford students and faculty, Friends, visiting scholars, and genealogical researchers." They have 600 manuscripts of records related to Carolina Quakers. Some of the documents date back to 1680. The Friends of the Library are very generous in their support of the literary and artistic endeavors at the library. The prominently-featured globe reminds us that reading and knowledge helps us be worldy.

On today, this ABC Wednesday, "Q" is for Quaker!

526 A South Elm Street

Here we see a vintage building at 526 South Elm Street being transformed from an antique store into a restaurant. It was near Lion's Crown Antiques, which has moved. In the last ten years, downtown Greensboro has transformed from a low rent to prime real estate area. When the new business is established, we'll show you an updated shot.

For now, we encourage you to look back through the photos from the previous week and to leave a comment on this, our Mellow Yellow Monday photo!

 

Edward McKay Used Books & More

Edward McKay Used Books & More, located at 1607 Battleground, has been "feeding your head since 1975." Of the four locations (Greensboro, Raleigh, Winston-Salem, & Fayetteville), the Greensboro location is the largest with over 10,000 square feet of inventory. Books, games, DVD's, game systems, Kindles, CD's, this story is a candy store of used media. Reasonable prices, unbelievable selection, and an atmosphere that encourages you to stay a while is the reason the parking lot is always full. They even have a free section for discarded, unwanted, and slightly damaged books. We usually purchase a book or two and head to nearby Starbuck's or Ghassan's for something to drink and a place to sit and peruse our acquisitions. We especially love the store credit earned for books and media we are no longer using.

The photo above represents a tiny, tiny part of the inventory, but gives you an idea of the no-frills, all books and media atmosphere. Are you a used bookstore aficionado?

O.Henry: Extraordinary Short Story Writer from Greensboro

Here we see one small part of the O. Henry Monument at 301 N. Elm Street in downtown Greensboro. O. Henry, pen name of William Sydney Porter, was born in Greensboro, North Carolina on September 11, 1862-- at the time of the Civil War in the United States. O. Henry will always be remembered for his great short stories with clever endings (aka, the O. Henry ending).  This human-sized book, dubbed "O. Henry's Book" by the artist Maria J. Kirby-Smith, was placed at the U.S. Trust Tower Plaza in 1985. In futures posts, we will see more delightful sides of the book as well as a statue of the author himself and his little dog, just a few paces away. In the meantime, if you are curious to learn more about the author or to see a picture of him, please follow the Wikipedia site linked to his name (above).

This must-see,  ensemble/tribute is posted in black and white today as part of the Monochrome Monday theme day. Since the overgrown azalea was removed a few years ago, this view of the monument is actually well suited for black and white.

               

Greensboro Central Library

The Greensboro Public Library system is absolutely taxpayers' money well spent. Featured today is the Children's Wing of the Central Branch of our public library system. To honor the privacy of children, we took pictures when the library was less crowded. However, the Greensboro libraries are busy, dynamic places, attracting people of all ages. In addition to print and media holdings, special programs and exhibits are offered. Free computers provide Internet access to people who otherwise might not have it. Additionally, the Friends of the Library organization is very active and offers engaging special events.  Their coffee shop at this branch offers refreshments and used books at reasonable prices.

               

Beef Burger Fast Foods-- A local splash of history and color

Perhaps you have passed by the colonial red and yellow A-framed business at 1040 West Lee Street, Beef Burger, and never noticed this colorful little blue corner on the east side of the building. This former Biff Burger franchise has been a local Greensboro eating establishment since 1961.

Click here to see the front, more recognizable, façade of Beef Burger and to learn more about this Greensboro institution from C. Catherman, self-proclaimed Biff-Burger fan and historian.

This picture would have made a great "guess where this is" page! Honestly, did you know before we told you?